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Baden-Württemberg and its companies

Bioeconomy refers to the sustainable management of renewable natural resources, which is why there is no such thing as a bioeconomy industry in the traditional sense. However, there are companies in Baden-Württemberg that use biomass as raw material base and have already developed products and processes in their effort to act more sustainably

The energy producer badenova uses male corn plants to produce renewable natural gas (RNG). The company circumvents the food vs fuel conflict as the male plants are only used to pollinate female corn before being discarded. A company called TECNARO from Ilsfeld/Auenstein near Heilbronn has developed a technology that it uses to produce injection-mouldable plastics and fibrous materials from lignin. These materials are already being used in numerous products. The company fischerwerke has developed a wall plug that is partially produced from renewable resources. The wall plug is produced from two-component nylon, and one of the two components is produced from castor oil. Daimler AG's A-Class is equipped with an engine cover that is also produced with a plastic partially made from biological resources.

Companies not only face challenges relating to products, but also concerning innovative production processes. New methods and machines need to be developed in order to be able to use biomass sustainably on an industrial scale. This means that traditional sectors such as the mechanical engineering and plant construction sectors must be made aware and persuaded of the necessity and benefits of the bioeconomy.

BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH is specifically interested in contacting companies that are already involved in bioeconomic activities, as well as companies that wish to contribute to the development of this area. Our contact details can be found under "BIOPRO services – Contacts".

Company profiles

The founders of the company IneraTec are developing a chemical reactor that can produce synthetic fuels from a broad range of different gas sources. What is completely new is the size of the reactor: it is no bigger than a desk. The IneraTec founders have found a way to design a compact reactor that fits into a container and only needs be connected to a gas source. At present, the reactor is set up to use methane as a source gas, but it has the potential to convert carbon dioxide and hydrogen mixtures into fuels at some point in the future. This, in combination with its decentralised application, gives some idea of the huge potential of the IneraTec reactor.

Jatropha is an extremely hardy and frugal plant species native to tropical and subtropical areas where it grows on wasteland. Jatropha seeds contain large quantities of oil that can be processed into a variety of products such as biofuels, animal feed, cosmetics and organic fertiliser. However, few Jatropha species have been properly domesticated, and the yields of the plants that grow in the wild are too small to be economically viable. Jatropha experts from the consulting company JatroSolutions from Stuttgart-Hohenheim are seeking to change this and since 2007 have been focussing on ways to make Jatropha cultivation economically profitable, as well as ecologically and socially acceptable. The first Jatropha varieties that meet the required criteria were placed on the market in 2014.

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Company foundations in the bioeconomy field

Nadine Antic is a waste recycling specialist who set up a company called GlobalFlow when she was still a student. She recently joined forces with two other people to create a new company called albfertil GmbH, which has invented a natural fertilizer called WORMANIZER. The fertilizer is produced from biogenic food industry waste that normally ends up in the garbage. The unusual worm humus product has now been placed on the market.

In 2013, with the backing of BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH and Plattform Umwelttechnik, the managing directors of GlobalFlow GmbH successfully obtained funding under the ”Young Innovators” programme. The programme is run by the Baden-Württemberg government and is aimed at giving university graduates who want to establish their own businesses the opportunity to develop their business idea further. Ursula Göttert from BIOPRO Baden-Württmberg GmbH met up with Nadine Antic, managing director of both GlobalFlow GmbH and albfertil GmbH, to find out how she has got on with her project.

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News of bioeconomic companies

This is the leitmotif of BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH, which was founded in 2003. 15 years is a good time to pause for a moment and take a look at BIOPRO’s work and achievements. As a central point of contact and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Baden-Württemberg government whose main objective is to promote networking, BIOPRO knows only too well that progress is not made alone, but in collaboration with others.

Europe’s leading universities in the field of the bioeconomy are looking to further intensify their existing cooperation to develop common problem-solving approaches for society’s most urgent challenges.

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Setting up an independent company is an excellent opportunity to turn innovative ideas into marketable products and services. As a professional partner and expert in life sciences company foundations, we offer a comprehensive support service.